The Firearm Blog

2A Armament of Idaho now has announced their upcoming BALIOS-Lite Receiver. The lower is a scant 6.5 oz according to their retailer, which is close to full polymer lowers (about 5.5 oz) from most manufacturers. The upper receiver weighs in at 5.85 oz.

Last year we reported that the Chilean Army agreement with Colt to purchase 2,000 M4 Carbines fell through and they were going to purchase FN SCAR-L and SCAR-H rifles instead. Apparently Chile have recieved thier SCAR-L rifles from FN Herstal. This photo (above) sent in by my good friend Lionel, shows a Chilean soldier with a FN SCAL-L. Maybe this young man is hiding a low-profile optic under his glove, but it looks suspiciously like he is holding the rifle at the ready but with his iron-sights collapsed.

Maximus Arms announced the production of a custom 1911 for left-handed shooters.  The pistol is part of the company’s Gladiator line of handguns.  The left handed model has an ambidextrous thumb safety and a magazine release mounted on the right side of the gun’s frame.

Toms Techniques on YouTube rebuilt his Uncle’s Stevens Favorite rifle from scratch.

I got a mag release from Ace 1 Arms to test on my KRISS Vector under live fire. Ace 1 Arms makes airsoft accessories but their ambi mag release is made of 6061 CNC aluminum. They were interested to see if their mag release would work in the real Vectors. I was confident that it would. The results are great and the design is fantastic.

When I used to work for a retail firearmsstore a few years back, there was two instances of firearms that were sent, but never arrived at the shop.  Near as anyone could tell from tracking info, they were swiped internally by a UPS employee.  From what I understand this actually ins’t as uncommon as one would think.

New from CRKT for 2014 is the Obake™ knife. It was designed by Lucas Burnley along the line of a Japanese Kwaiken. It is a full tang with the handle being wrapped katana-style with nylon cord. The blade has a gray titanium nitride finish and is acid etched to provide a uniquely different pattern on each knife.

C Clips … what more can be said about them other than that they were obviously invented by the devil to torment us. The countless instructional Youtube videos on changing the humble AR-15 dust cover is testament to this.  Fortunately for me and other C Clip haters, Strike Industries took note and have developed the UDC (Ultimate Dust Cover). This nylon polymer dust cover can be quickly attached and detached without tools in 5-10 seconds. It features a number of different designs, so if you get bored with one, you can switch it to another.

War is Boring is reporting that Iraqi government troops are being outfitted with rifles from neighboring Iran.  The rifles specifically mentioned were the Sayyad, a clone of the Steyr Hs. 50 and a Siavash, a 7.62×51 clone of the US military M40 rifle.

Fortis Manufacturing has released the first of their new SWITCH rail systems. In a similar vein to DRD Tactical’s quick-rail systems, the SWITCH uses a clamp and proprietary barrel nut to allow the user to quickly don and d’off the rail.

Survival Grips has an interesting product. It is a vertical grip with a knuckle duster integrated into the grip.

The grip is polycarbonate. The Finger Guard is made of Aircraft Grade Aluminum 6061 T-6. The grip will fit on Mil-STD-1913 or Picatinny Rail.

The knuckles are removable for what ever dastardly deed you need to use these for.  It doesn’t pique my interests but perhaps it is something you need for your zombie prepper rifle.

For those interested in purchasing one, they can be found here.

Six years ago the Turkish government announced that their armed forces were switching from the H&K G3 to an HK416 derivative that they were manufacturing domestically under license from H&K. The rifle, which was virtually identical to the HK416N, was called the Mehmetçik-1. Since that announcement I have not seen or heard the Mehmetçik-1 mentioned anywhere. Apparently Turkish soldiers, who were used to their 7.62mm battle rifles, disliked the range and stopping power of the 5.56mm cartridge.

Tactical Watchmaker Minuteman have collaborated with ZeroTolerance to produce the MM01K Minuteman knife. It has a distinct blackwash jeans-style finish made by coating the components with Tungsten DLC (Diamond-like Carbon) and then tumbling them. I really like this look, but I am sure its not for everyone.

A different view of the Ares SCR. Michael Bane talks about the Ares SCR at the Ares booth. At 3min into the video, he explains that the recoil buffer is redirected into the stock and that it “redirects recoil” Sounds very similar to the KRISS Super V system, albeit the redirection is not as steep as the KRISS Vector, but similar. You could equate it to the recoil buffer of some semi automatic shotguns.

The best part is the MSRP of only $865. Not bad at all.

We don’t like to give bad reviews to any product or company here at The Firearm Blog, but if we do not believe that something is up to snuff, we will make sure that our readers know that. Our own Phil White said it best to me in an email:

Kyle Defoor at TriggerTimeTV argues that the popular Square/Bladed stance (toes in a line facing the target) for offhand shooting is not the best position. He argues that it offers minimal extra protection and if you have to stand and shoot, its better to shoot accuracy and move, than shoot poorly in an uncomfortable position.

What do you think?

Thanks to J for the tip.

Robert Harper sent The Firearm Blog photos of a convertible FAL with a 5.56mm magazine adaptor and a user-removable barrel. Included in the images are different length gas pistons and springs, presumably for the different length barrel and handguard assemblies. One of the barrels is marked “.50 BEO”. It reportedly shoots 5.56mm, 7.62mm, and .50 Beowulf.

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I recently had the pleasure of testing the BR-99 shotgun. The BR-99 is a 12 Gauge semi-automatic shotgun, manufactured by UZKON ARMS of Turkey and imported by National Military Armament. (NATMIL)  With its box magazine, front sight, carry handle, pistol grip, and butt stock the BR- 99 outwardly appears like an M16 rifle.

Chris Costa has a decent 25 min video highlighting the pros and cons of red dots on pistols. He makes some points that may be of use to you. Such issues like moisture obscuring the emitter or the glass. For LE or military he brings up the use of NODs and red dots. The pros do out weigh the cons. One aspect that I didn’t consider is age and eyesight. Red Dots can be easier for older shooters. Costa talks about certain types of corrective lenses that may cause a shooter to spend more time getting their sight picture but a Red Dot would help to speed that process up.